A suicide bomber has killed at least 11 people in northwestern Pakistan, in an attack targeting Shi'ite Muslims.

Police say the bomber detonated his vehicle outside a hospital in Hangu, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Reports say the hospital was being built by the area's Shi'ite community. Friday's attack occurred one day after the start of the holy month of Muharram, which is especially important for Shi'ites and is often marred by bombings by Sunni extremists.

Police in northwest Pakistan say a suicide bomber has struck near a market, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 30.

Authorities say the attack happened Wednesday in the town of Kohat.

Police say the bomber blew himself by a passenger bus near Tirah market. Officials say the bus was headed to nearby Orakzai district.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Meanwhile, a purported spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a deadly blast that took place Monday during an anti-Taliban meeting.

Kenyans are anxiously waiting for suspects to be named in the International Criminal Court's landmark investigation into the country's post-election chaos. But as prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo prepares to present his case to The Hague, setbacks and criticism in Kenya threaten to derail the trial.

There are less than two weeks left until Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo's indictment deadline of December 17 expires and Kenyans across the nation are waiting to see which among the country's political and business elite will be named.

Authorities in Pakistan say a suicide attack in a northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan has killed at least 50 people. The deadly attack took place in the Mohmand tribal district where Pakistani security forces are engaged in anti-insurgency operations.

Witnesses and officials say two suicide bombers riding motorbikes and disguised as policemen detonated their devices in the main government compound in Ghalanai, the administrative center of the border region.

A Kenyan Police officer has been killed by an explosion Friday morning in Nairobi.

Early Friday morning an assailant reportedly threw a grenade or some form of explosive device into a Kenyan police vehicle which exploded, injuring those inside. Kenyan police have confirmed the attack killed one of the officers inside, injuring one and leaving two others in critical condition.
Reports indicate that no bystanders were injured in the attack. A local hairdresser, Jane Mbugua, was nearby when she heard the explosion.

Mexican federal police say they have captured a regional leader of the Zetas drug gang, who allegedly trafficked drugs from the Dominican Republic and Panama to the United States.

Security official Luis Cardenas said Thursday that Eduardo Ramirez Valencia was detained Wednesday along with an accomplice in Hidalgo state. Cardenas also said Ramirez was thought to have collaborated closely with Heriberto Lazcano, an alleged Zeta leader.

Authorities have blamed the Zetas, in part, for an escalation in violence in northeastern Mexico this year.

Spain's Interior Ministry says police have arrested at least seven people suspected of ties to the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that left 166 people dead.

Spanish media report the arrests took place late Tuesday and early Wednesday in and around the northeastern city of Barcelona. They say the arrested are mostly Pakistanis nationals and are suspected of falsifying passports and other identification documents.

Somali pirates have hijacked a Malaysian-flagged container ship in the Indian Ocean.

Multiple sources said Tuesday that pirates seized the MV Albedo west of the Maldives islands on Friday. The ship was en route from the United Arab Emirates to Kenya.

The European Union's anti-piracy force says the Albedo has a crew of 23 from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran.

Somali pirates are now reported to be holding at least 22 vessels with more than 500 hostages.

Mexican authorities have found 18 bodies buried near a ranch in the northern state of Chihuahua, which borders the United States.

Investigators Monday said soldiers uncovered the remains recently, but that it was not clear who was buried in the graves.

Word of the discovery came as a woman police chief, Hermila Garcia was ambushed and shot dead on a highway near the town of Meoqui, which is in Chihuahua. Garcia had served as Meoqui's police chief since October.

Article by VOA News